>>319986
>A pull up to a massive mound of sand and stop the car.
"Holy shit. How many ants did you pull for this?"
>"All of them."
>I grab a mask from my trunk, and step into my hazmat suit.
>Hadia reluctantly follows suit.
I glance towards the sunrise, "Alright… I'll call the office and let them know we're heading into the tunnel."
>A quick call later and we're walking down the newly built wooden staircase with our flashlights and suits.
"So how far in did you go?"
>She points to the bottom, "There's a tiny room down there that was filled with sand. When I dug through it and saw the tunnel, I had to run and get you."
>About halfway down the staircase we click on our headlamps, illuminating our path down.
>At the bottom I look around the tiny room. Despite the large amount of remaining sand, it's mostly intact. There's even a woven rug peeking out.
>And then there's the barely visible tunnel at the far end of the room.
"Did you dig this room out with your hands?"
>"Well, yeah. A shovel might damage something, and the ants already went back."
"Nice job." I point to the tunnel and take the small shovel strapped to the outside of my leg, "I'll widen that up so we can head in."
>After a few shovel fulls of sand, I turn off my headlamp.
"Do you see this?"
>She turns hers off and bounces on the spot, "I KNOW! THERE'S MAGIC TORCHES DOWN THERE!"
>I hurriedly dig enough out to crawl through and force myself inside.
>Hadia hurries inches behind me and we both stare in amazement at the tunnel.
>Magic torches burning in a sky-blue light, tapestries hanging in between them, and an engraved floor inlaid with a shimmering metal.
>We slowly make our way down the tunnel, looking at every tapestry we pass.
"This… I can't believe all of this."
>All that's left is the large golden set of double doors at the end of the tunnel.
>We each push one open, and look into the darkness. The light from the magic torches doesn't seem to penetrate, so we turn on our headlamps again.
>Once again, it's as if the darkness absorbs the light after a few feet. We slowly cross the threshold, and the doors slam behind us.
"Oh shit."
>I look at her, and she points at something over my head. Her mouth quivers and she backs against the doors.
>I slowly turn to look.
>Snake. A GIANT snake. Slowly magic torches light inside the room, and the darkness slowly disappears.
>It's not just a giant fucking snake. It's a giant METAL fucking snake.
I whisper, "Holy shit."
>The torches slowly change from the pale blue color to a tone similar to daylight.
>That's when we see the skeletons.
>Several are armed with swords and pikes, and there's a massive lamia skeleton in the center of the room.
>The metal snake blocks the path across the room with its massive body, but its fiery ruby eyes staring at Hadia.
I whisper to her, "Hey. Hadia. It's looking at you."
>"I-I know. I… I d-don't know w-w-why!"
"Weren't Anubi the servants of Pharaohs? Maybe tell it to let us pass?"
>She swallows and ever so slightly nods, "Y-yeah. A-alright."
>The metal snake slithers past me and and positions its head a meter from Hadia's face.
>She closes her eyes and says, "L-let us pass."
>The snake slithers away and coils itself onto a raised platform, watching us both.
"Amazing."
>We inch ourselves along the wall opposite of the snake, and reach the large double doors leading deeper into the ruins.
>Hadia clutches at her head, "Ow… okay, geez. I get it."
"You okay?"
>She nods, "Yeah… just…"
She pushes open the doors and I rest my hand against her back, "That didn't sound okay."
>She winces, "Tired. Headache. That's all… Oh…"
>The magic torches inside all ignite simultaneously.
"This… looks like a throne room… SHIT SNAKES!"
>There are small metal snakes staring at us with their ruby eyes as we cross the opulent throne room.
>We climb the steps to the throne itself, and step around it.
"One more hallway…"
>She nods, "I'm not going to lie, I'm scared."
I lead and push open the door.
"A bedroom?… Wait is…"
>We both instinctively kneel as the body on the bed stirs. I focus my eyes on the ground, confused as to what's going on.
>The woman wraps a shawl around herself, then orders, "You, Anubis. Tell me your name."
>Hadia says, "Hadia Irenna."
>The woman gracefully walks in front of Hadia and lifts her chin, "Well done child. You will be the advisor for my new kingdom."